Destiny
by Kataang1337
Summary: A Zuko and Mai centric version of The Day of Black Sun Part I & II.What happens before Zuko confronts his father,Fire Lord Ozai,and what happens after Mai reads Zuko's letter.Oneshot


Taken from the Day of Black Sun Part I & II. The two episodes were concentrated more on Aang and the invasion forces. I thought I might write something revolving around Zuko and Mai.

* * *

Zuko paced his room, deep in thought. He had always thought that his destiny was to capture the Avatar, that the only way to restore his honor was to return home with the Avatar in captivity. But it wasn't. Zuko had everything he ever wanted now. His father had accepted him back with honor. He was the prince of the Fire Nation, heir to the throne. The perfect son that his father had always wanted, or so his father thought. Zuko knew now that this wasn't the life he wanted.

He knew what he had to do now. He had to fulfill his destiny: to help the Avatar. But how was he going to do it? How was he going to tell this to Mai?

"_Mai, I was wrong. I am going to join the Avatar, because that is the right thing for me to do. Goodbye."_

It sounded stupid in his head. He tried to imagine Mai's response.

"_Why?"_

Zuko couldn't find an answer. He realized that he couldn't tell this to Mai face to face. He just couldn't face Mai, or he would be tempted to stay. All he could do was leave a letter for Mai.

* * *

_Dear Mai,_

_I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I just don't know how to say it to you. All along, I had thought that my destiny was to capture the Avatar, to bring glory to the Fire Nation. It was a grave mistake. I had everything I had ever wanted since young. I was the perfect prince. I was the son my father wanted. But, I wasn't me. I've finally understood what Uncle had been trying to tell me: my destiny isn't what I think it is. Everyone has a part to play in this war. My part is to teach the Avatar Firebending and help him end the war. You may not understand now, but it doesn't matter. All you have to know is that I'm leaving, and I won't be returning; until my father is defeated. Don't try to look for me. My mind is set. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just want you to know that I still love you._

_Zuko_

* * *

Zuko read and reread his letter. He was sure that Mai would kill him for this, but he still had to do it. Carefully stashing the letter away in his cloak, Zuko threw the hood over his head and trudged out of his room. The walk from the palace to Mai's house was a long one for him. He hated to leave Mai. Nevertheless, he knew what his destiny had in store for him.

"I'm sorry, Mai." Zuko said as he walked towards Mai's bed and placed his letter on the pillow.

* * *

Zuko knelt in front of his mother's portrait. He understood what his mother had told him before she mysteriously disappeared.

_No matter what happens, never forget who you are._

He was the great grandson of both Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku. It was up to him to correct the mistakes that his great grandfathers had made.

"I know I made some bad choices. But today, I'm going to set things right."

With that, Zuko grabbed his broadswords and backpack. Taking a last look at Lady Ursa's picture, he put on his cloak, walking off to finally face his destiny.

* * *

The eclipse was about to begin. The invasion forces have already reached taken the royal plaza. However, the inhabitants of the palace have long hidden themselves in the underground bunkers.

Prince Zuko stood in front of a door within the tunnels. Behind the door was his father, Fire Lord Ozai.

"I'm ready to face you." Zuko stepped forwards, sliding the door open. There were elite guards armed with spears standing in front of the Fire Lord. Ozai was about to take a sip from a steaming cup of tea when he noticed Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, what are you doing here?"

Zuko merely took a step closer to the line of guards. A lack of energy in him told him that the eclipse had begun.

"Why are you here?" Ozai asked apprehensively. He had ordered that no one was to enter the chamber.

"I'm here to tell the truth." Zuko answered in a low voice.

"Telling the truth in the middle of an eclipse. This should be interesting." Ozai waved his hand for the guards to leave the chamber.

Zuko took a deep breath. "First of all, in Ba Sing Se, it was Azula who took down the Avatar, not me."

"Why would she lie to me about that?"

"Because the Avatar is not dead. He survived."

"What!" Ozai roared in alarm. All along, the Avatar was thought to be dead.

"In fact, he's probably leading this invasion. He could be on us right now."

Ozai rose to his feet furiously. "Get out! Get out of my sight now if you know what's good for you!"

"There's another thing. I'm not taking orders from you anymore." Zuko added calmly.

This was too much for Ozai. "You will obey me or this defiant breath will be your last!" He began to walk towards Zuko, fists clenched.

Zuko reacted instantly. Unsheathing his broadswords, he brandished them at his father. "Think again. I am going to speak my mind and you are going to listen."

Ozai paused, considering the odds, before sitting back down.

"For so long, all I wanted was you to love me, to accept me. I thought it was my honor that I wanted but really, I was just trying to please you. You, my father, who banished me just for talking out of turn." Zuko pointed a sword at him._ "_My father, who challenged me, a thirteen year old boy to an Agni Kai. How can you possibly justify a duel with a child‌?"

"It was to teach you respect." Ozai spat.

"It was cruel! And it was wrong."

"Then you have learned nothing."

"No, I've learnt everything! And I had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was. The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it. We've created an era of fear in the world. And if we don't want the world to destroy itself, we need to replace it with an era of peace and kindness."

Ozai laughed. "Your uncle has gotten to you, hasn't he?"

Zuko closed his eyes for a second. "Yes. He has."

Ozai frowned in disapproval.

"After I leave here today, I'm going to free Uncle Iroh from his prison, and I'm going to beg for his forgiveness. He is the one who has been a real father to me."

Ozai chuckled. "That's just beautiful. Maybe he can pass down to you the ways of tea and failure."

"But I've come to an even more important decision." Zuko paused. "I'm going to join the Avatar. And I'm going to help him defeat you."

"Really? Since you're a full blown traitor now and you want me gone, why wait? I'm powerless; you've got your swords. Why don't you just do it now?" Ozai grinned slyly.

"Because I know my own destiny. Taking you down is the Avatar's destiny." Zuko sheathed his broadswords and turns to leave. "Goodbye."

"Coward!" Ozai jumped to his feet. "You think you're brave enough to face me but you only do it during an eclipse. If you have any real courage, you'll stick around until the sun comes out. Don't you want to know what happened to your mother?"

Zuko froze. His mother. It was a question that had never been answered; and now he was about to find out.

"What happened that night?" Zuko asked, wheeling around, curious to know about his mother.

"My father, Fire Lord Azulon, had commanded me to do the unthinkable to you, my own son. And I was going to do it." A twisted smile formed on Ozai's face. "Your mother found out and swore she would protect you at any cost. She knew I wanted the throne and she proposed a plan. A plan in which I would become Fire Lord and your life would be spared."

Ozai paused to observe Zuko's reaction, but continued, seeing that Zuko's expression was unreadable. "Your mother did vicious, treasonous things that night. She knew the consequences and accepted them. For her treason, she was banished."

"So she's _alive_?" Zuko croaked as a tear streamed from his eye. His mind was filled with confusion. What his father just told him…_it can't be true._ But he realized, his father didn't have the need to lie to him. There was nothing to gain.

"Perhaps. Now I realize that banishment is far too merciful a penalty for treason. Your penalty will be _far_ steeper." Ozai closed his eyes for a second. Without warning, he suddenly stepped forth, swinging his arms in front to create two arcs of electricity from the tips of his fingers. Thrusting his fingers forwards, he fired a bolt of brilliantly white lightning at Zuko.

Zuko hardly had time to react. He had barely caught the lightning with the tips of his fingers. The impact of the attack sent him sliding backwards. Zuko could feel the energy slowly creeping up his arm. It could spread throughout his body any moment.

_If you let the energy in your own body flow, the lightning will follow it._

Without stopping to think, Zuko sank his body lower to stabilize himself, concentrating on the flow of energy inside his body. From his fingertips up his arm to his shoulder and down to his stomach, then up again and out the other arm.

_You must not let the lightning pass through your heart, or the damage could be deadly._

Keeping that in mind, Zuko channeled the energy through his other arm, forcing it out of his fingertips. The lightning erupted from between his fingers. The bolt struck where Ozai was standing, creating an explosion that knocked Ozai against the wall. Taking the chance, Zuko fled before his father could recover from the counter attack.

* * *

The next thing to do, was to rescue Uncle Iroh from the prison. With the invasion going on, Zuko thought it wouldn't be too difficult. As the prison loomed into sight, he realized something was amiss. There were craters on the walls and stairs. The door was left wide open.

"This isn't right." Zuko thought as he stepped over a guard who lay unconscious on the floor. Passing through the hall, he ran towards a doorway leading to Uncle Iroh's cell.

"Uncle!" Zuko hollered, dashing straight into the cell. _Oh no._ There was a huge hole in the cage. The bars surrounding the hole were bent outwards. Zuko caught sight of someone lying on the floor, dazed. Grabbing the person by the collar, he noticed it was Warden Poon.

"Where is my uncle?" Zuko questioned him.

Warden Poon was still in a state of shock. "He's gone. He busted himself out. I…I've never seen anything like it! He was like a one man army!"

Uncle Iroh had escaped, without his help. The next step would be to join the Avatar. Zuko dropped Poon back onto the floor, running out of the cell.

* * *

When Mai found the letter on her bed, she slumped to the floor, with the letter crumpled in her fist. She didn't look dignified at all, but she didn't care. After all, Mai hardly cared about anything. She didn't feel much, but with Zuko, it was different. He had a special way to inspire thousands of emotions within her. This time, it was one she had never felt before. It was something new.

"Idiot. You're going to get yourself killed…" Mai murmured, fighting back the emotions that were threatening to burst out of her. She never enjoyed showing emotion. It was like letting others read you like a book. Pulling herself up, Mai flopped limply onto her bed.

When it seemed to Mai that she was finally happy, being in love, Zuko chose to throw it all away. She didn't understand why he had to do it. She thought she understood him, but not as much as he understood her.

_You may not understand now, but it doesn't matter._

How did he know? Mai certainly couldn't understand why Zuko would choose such a path over being together with her. True, it was his choice, there was nothing she could do to change it; but what did he do it for? Did he really think that siding with the Avatar was the right path? Was ending this war really worth giving up his family and his old life?

_I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just want you to know that I still love you._

Certainly, Mai would never forgive him for doing this. If he still loved her, why would he leave in the first place? And even if he had to leave, he could have taken her with him. Why? Mai struggled to find the answer.

A sharp rapping on the door interrupted her train of thoughts. Mai knew it could only be Azula. Shoving the letter under her pillow, Mai quickly opened the door to let Azula in, keeping her expression as blank as possible. With fifteen years of practice, it was easy.

"Mai, I'm glad to see that you're alright, after that _little_ peasant rebellion." Azula brushed past her, looking shrewdly around the room.

Mai shut the door quietly. "So it was crushed easily?" She asked.

"Yes, yes. But that's not what I came here to tell you about. I figured you should be informed that my dear brother has shown his true colors, as a traitor."

"Is that so?" Mai tried to look a little surprised. If she reacted too distantly, Azula would assume she already knew. If she acted a little more than she would normally in such a situation, Azula could tell that she had already found out.

Azula seemed to be satisfied with her reaction, because she had continued. "Yes. Father was so disappointed. I can't imagine how you must be feeling now."

"I don't know what to say." Mai stated monotonously. "What did he do?"

"Oh, Zuzu threatened Father, saying that he was going to free Uncle and join the Avatar. And the funny thing was, Uncle broke out of prison all by himself." Azula looked into Mai's eyes, trying to find a hint of anything.

"Really? I can't imagine Zuko would be so foolish to do something like that." Mai answered, careful not to show the slightest clue of knowing.

"You should know that my brother can be very stupid at times, don't you?"

Mai yawned. "I'm tired. I don't want to talk about your stupid brother any more. I don't want to talk about anything."

"Yes, of course, Mai." Azula strode out of the door. Mai silently cursed Zuko. _Why did you have to let me know? It's your own destiny, not mine. Now I have to deal with Azula for you. Damn you, Zuko._


End file.
